[pbs] What's a Bulb?, was Re: chocolate scented bulbs
boutin
boutin at goldrush.com
Fri Jul 7 13:46:09 EDT 2006
Fuchsia decidua is an oddity which I saw years ago in the Sierra de Minatlan
in western Jalisco. It has a few long, thick, spongy roots, not defined
into potato-like tubers, but still tuberous. The thick roots are buried in
moss high up on the trunks of oaks. The very colorful flowers mimic the
local mistletoes. A tuberous plant but an epiphyte rather than a geophyte.
There are several epiphytic bulbs, so this shouldn't be too far off topic.
Fred
----- Original Message -----
From: <totototo at telus.net>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 10:05 AM
Subject: [pbs] What's a Bulb?, was Re: chocolate scented bulbs
> On 7 Jul 06, at 14:31, Jacinda and Barry wrote:
>
> > Good question re: orchids and what counts as bulbs and what doesn't.
> > Have always wondered this myself!
>
> The terms "bulb", "tuber", "rhizome", and "corm" have rather precise
> definitions in botanical use, which you can unearth in any suitable
> reference.
>
> Some plants are, as you would expect, problematic: various cyclamen
> species have roots on different faces of their whatevers so the genus
> as a whole presents a problem when it comes to classifying their
> storage organs.
>
> And many plants have fleshy roots that are none of these: peonies,
> for example.
>
> The storage organs of some orchids are regularly referred to as
> "tubers", e.g. /Orchis/, but others are less certain. The "bulbs" of
> /Pleione/ are commonly referred to as "pseudobulbs".
>
> So in spite of nomenclatural precision by the botanists, there are,
> as usual, gray areas and unclassifiable structures to keep us all
> amused and alert.
>
>
>
> --
> Rodger Whitlock
> Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
> Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
>
> on beautiful Vancouver Island
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